This collection of black and white photographs explores the devastating, and sometimes beautiful truths of the AIDS pandemic in the U.S.

McGovern's project covers the ten-year period from 1987-1997, a time of intense AIDS activism which had forced the pandemic into the cultural and political dialogue. People with HIV/AIDS, rejecting the label of 'victim', are seen actively taking control of their lives and their medical treatment in this straightforward and sober account.

But, in McGovern's words, "this is not really a documentary project, it's an attempt to merge the didactic and the expressive... I'm an artist, not a journalist and I don't pretend to be unbiased or objective in my view of the crisis. What I am trying to do is demonstrate some of the depth of people's experiences about AIDS, and particularly, my own experience of it."

Annmarie Luciano and children Raquel, 7, and Peter, 11, Schenectady, New York, October 20, 1995."Annmarie's husband died five years ago and only after his death did she learn that it was from AIDS. Now she too has AIDS. Raquel doesn't seem to realize what this means but Peter is acutely aware of the impact on his family."